The Globalizing Legal Sector in Korea
Legal Education, Legal Profession, and Jury System
Will be published approx. on 25. June 2026
Book
Hardback
258 pages
979-8-216-27769-9 (ISBN)
Description
A deep look at how global influences reshaped South Korea's legal system - blending foreign models with local traditions and sparking new inequalities.
Examining how globalization has reshaped South Korea's legal institutions while deepening old hierarchies, the contributors show that reforms in legal education, the legal profession, and the jury system were not simple adoptions of foreign models but complex hybridizations that combined global ideals with entrenched local practices. By analyzing the "Americanization" of law schools, restructuring of the legal profession, and experiments with citizen participation in trials, the book exposes the tensions inherent in legal reform within a rapidly globalizing society. South Korea's experience illustrates how efforts to modernize often collide with cultural norms, state agendas, and structural inequalities, producing uneven and occasionally conflicting outcomes. This volume offers fresh insights for scholars of law and society, comparative legal studies, and East Asian politics, as well as for policymakers navigating the challenges of global reform.
Examining how globalization has reshaped South Korea's legal institutions while deepening old hierarchies, the contributors show that reforms in legal education, the legal profession, and the jury system were not simple adoptions of foreign models but complex hybridizations that combined global ideals with entrenched local practices. By analyzing the "Americanization" of law schools, restructuring of the legal profession, and experiments with citizen participation in trials, the book exposes the tensions inherent in legal reform within a rapidly globalizing society. South Korea's experience illustrates how efforts to modernize often collide with cultural norms, state agendas, and structural inequalities, producing uneven and occasionally conflicting outcomes. This volume offers fresh insights for scholars of law and society, comparative legal studies, and East Asian politics, as well as for policymakers navigating the challenges of global reform.
Reviews / Votes
In an era of rapid institutional change, this book reveals the tensions and innovations driving Korea's legal transformation. It offers a penetrating account of how legal institutions evolve under pressure from globalization and domestic reform. The chapters examine shifts in legal education, the restructuring of the profession, the evolution of lay participation in criminal trials, and emerging debates in areas such as insolvency and international adoption. This is an essential read for scholars and policymakers interested in Korean legal studies, comparative law, and legal sociology. * Patricia Goedde, Professor at Sungkyunkwan University Law School, KOR *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
4 bw figures, 46 tables
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
513 gr
ISBN-13
979-8-216-27769-9 (9798216277699)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jeong-Chul Kim | Joong-Hwan Oh
The Globalizing Legal Sector in Korea
Legal Education, Legal Profession, and Jury System
E-Book
05/2026
Bloomsbury Academic
€100.99
Available for download
Jeong-Chul Kim | Joong-Hwan Oh
The Globalizing Legal Sector in Korea
Legal Education, Legal Profession, and Jury System
E-Book
05/2026
Bloomsbury Academic
€100.99
Available for download
Persons
Jeong-Chul Kim is an independent researcher and works as a civil servant at the Donggu Office in Gwangju, KOR.
Joong-Hwan Oh is a Professor of Sociology at Hunter College of The City University of New York, USA.
Joong-Hwan Oh is a Professor of Sociology at Hunter College of The City University of New York, USA.
Content
List of Figures
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction: Contradictions in Korea's Globalizing Legal Sector Jeong-Chul Kim and Joong-Hwan Oh
Part 1: Legal Education in the Era of Global Convergence
Chapter 2: The "Americanization" of Legal Education in South Korea: Challenges and Opportunities Rosa Kim
Chapter 3: The Influence of U.S. Legal Education on South Korean Legal Education Jaewan Moon
Part 2: Restructuring the Legal Profession: From State Monopoly to Market Competition
Chapter 4: Legal Education Reform in Korea: Towards a More Diverse Profession? Michelle Kwon
Chapter 5: The Introduction of the Law School System and the Structure of the Legal Profession in Korea: Status and Prospects Jae-Hyup Lee
Part 3: Democracy, and the Jury: Citizen Participation as Legal Reform
Chapter 6: The South-Korean Style of Jury System as a Kind of Legal Transplant: Comparative Analysis with an Anglo-American Jury John Sanghyun Lee
Chapter 7: Judge-Jury Interaction in Deliberation: Enhancement or Obstruction of Independent Jury Decision-Making? Jae-Hyup Lee and Jisuk Woo
Chapter 8: Diversity, Dialogue, and Deliberation: An Empirical Investigation of Age, Gender, and Meaningful Decision-Making in Korean Juries Jisuk Woo and Justin D. Levinson
Part 4: Law in Transition: Legal Norms, Justice, and the Contradictions of Global Reform
Chapter 9: Contract Law and Insolvency Law, Continuity or Discontinuity: On A Recently Proposed Amendment to Korean Insolvency Law Joon-Kyu Choi
Chapter 10: For The World's More Full of Weeping: Why South Korea Should Retroactively Abolish Civil and Criminal Statutes of Limitation Applicable to Illegal International Adoptions Daniel A. Edelson
Index
About the Contributors
List of Tables
Acknowledgments
Preface
Chapter 1: Introduction: Contradictions in Korea's Globalizing Legal Sector Jeong-Chul Kim and Joong-Hwan Oh
Part 1: Legal Education in the Era of Global Convergence
Chapter 2: The "Americanization" of Legal Education in South Korea: Challenges and Opportunities Rosa Kim
Chapter 3: The Influence of U.S. Legal Education on South Korean Legal Education Jaewan Moon
Part 2: Restructuring the Legal Profession: From State Monopoly to Market Competition
Chapter 4: Legal Education Reform in Korea: Towards a More Diverse Profession? Michelle Kwon
Chapter 5: The Introduction of the Law School System and the Structure of the Legal Profession in Korea: Status and Prospects Jae-Hyup Lee
Part 3: Democracy, and the Jury: Citizen Participation as Legal Reform
Chapter 6: The South-Korean Style of Jury System as a Kind of Legal Transplant: Comparative Analysis with an Anglo-American Jury John Sanghyun Lee
Chapter 7: Judge-Jury Interaction in Deliberation: Enhancement or Obstruction of Independent Jury Decision-Making? Jae-Hyup Lee and Jisuk Woo
Chapter 8: Diversity, Dialogue, and Deliberation: An Empirical Investigation of Age, Gender, and Meaningful Decision-Making in Korean Juries Jisuk Woo and Justin D. Levinson
Part 4: Law in Transition: Legal Norms, Justice, and the Contradictions of Global Reform
Chapter 9: Contract Law and Insolvency Law, Continuity or Discontinuity: On A Recently Proposed Amendment to Korean Insolvency Law Joon-Kyu Choi
Chapter 10: For The World's More Full of Weeping: Why South Korea Should Retroactively Abolish Civil and Criminal Statutes of Limitation Applicable to Illegal International Adoptions Daniel A. Edelson
Index
About the Contributors